Nor'West News: June 11, 2019

10 Tuesday June 11 2019
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
NOR’WEST NEWS
News
HONOURED:
Mary Holmes
at an event
organised by
Soroptimist
International of
Christchurch
members to
celebrate her
50 years of
service to the
organisation. ​
Women’s group recognises
Mary’s 50-year contribution
• By Jess Gibson
FOR MORE than half her life,
94-year-old Casebrook resident
Mary Holmes has worked hard
to help advance the status of
women.
Now Soroptimist International
of Christchurch has recognised
her 50 years’ of service to the
global women’s organisation.
An event, organised by
members of the club last
month, celebrated her enduring
contribution.
“It was a wonderful honour
for me and quite unexpected.
Throughout the past 50 years,
I have met so many wonderful
women and travelled the
world to attend Soroptimist
conferences,” said Mrs Holmes.
“Women can make an
incredible difference in society
across a range of sectors,
including education and
training, politics, peacekeeping
initiatives, environmental
management and more.”
Mrs Holmes has had a range of
positions within the organisation
since she first became involved
in 1969. “I have held many roles
at the executive committee
level. However, perhaps my
greatest contributions were as
club secretary where I kept all
members up to date regarding
club activities and also spent
many hours fundraising for our
various projects.”
Mrs Holmes has also been
the club’s region archivist
and managed to personally
collect, compile and place
many important Soroptimist
files in the historic section of
Christchurch Library.
Aside from her work with
Soroptimist, Mrs Holmes has
a long history of service to her
community. She was one of
the first females in the city to
become a justice of the peace on
preliminary hearings at districts
courts and recently retired three
months before her 94th birthday.
She has been a staunch
supporter of the Canterbury
Cats Protection League, of which
she is a patron and a founding
member.
She was also a founding
member of the North
West Christchurch Probus
Club, an active member of the
Returned Services Association
and of Papanui clubs in the
area.
“I believe that the world would
be a better place if we all helped
each other more willingly.
We come into the world with
nothing and we take nothing
with us when we depart. The
only important thing we leave
behind is our contribution to
others.”
Mrs Holmes has been an
inspiration to her two daughters,
Triena Ong and Isla Winarto
throughout their lives.
“Mum has always been a great
role model, inspiring us to work
hard from a very early age, to
achieve meaningful, personal
goals and be proud of our
achievements. She has also made
us greatly aware that women are
capable of making a tremendous
contribution to society and
we should seize opportunities
as they come along,” said Mrs
Winarto.
MESSAGE:
Arwen
Valks
wants to
publish a
book that
could help
people
with
mental
health
struggles.
PHOTO:
MARTIN
HUNTER
Bid to self-publish
book for anxiety and
depression sufferers
• By Matt Slaughter
ARWEN VALKS says no one
should have to go through
depression and anxiety alone.
She has been through them
herself and knows how hard
things can get.
Now Mrs Valks wants to
publish Rupert’s Black Dog, a
book she has written for young
people who are facing similar
struggles, or might do in the
future
A Givealittle page she started
has already raised $1656.
Mrs Valks wants to raise
$5000 at least, which would
publish about 250 books, but
said the more she raised the
more people the book would be
able to help.
She said the story followed
a young boy who discovers
his anxiety and depression
through talking to a black dog
and learns how to deal with
it and share what he is feeling
with others.
Mrs Valks said she felt the
message of the book would be
of value to both young people
with mental health problems
and their parents.
“There are way too many
precious, amazing, beautiful
little people who can’t see that
about themselves and who get
stuck in this cloud and think
their only way out is to call
time out on themselves and
it’s just heartbreaking and it’s
completely unnecessary.”
Part of her inspiration for
writing the book was the
mental health struggles she
went through after the birth
of her 19-month-old daughter
Zuri.
Mrs Valks said if her
experience with anxiety and
depression since she was a
child, which had shaped some
of the themes of the book,
could help others she would
have done her job.
“If me going through all
of this and writing this book
makes things better for half a
dozen people, then it’s worth
it. “
Mrs Valks said she had sent
Rupert’s Black Dog to some
publishers, but nothing had
come of this yet.
Her decision to fundraise
and self-publish was because
she wanted to get the book out
and start helping people as
soon as possible.
The dog in the story was
named after her friend Rupert
Hill-Hayr, who illustrated the
book for free.
The Givealittle page for the
book closes at the end of this
month and Mrs Valks said
every contribution would help.
$53,000 WORTH OF PRIZES TO BE WON!